This article from today's NY Times implies the answer is no--the third paragraph says "He is an illegal immigrant from Senegal, with no ID to allow him to board a plane." But I know you don't really need ID to fly, since I've read many reports on FT of people flying domestically in the U.S when they lost or forgot their drivers license. (TSA just gives them automatic secondary screening.)

So what gives?

can use a foreign issued passport as ID as well.

I've seen people use Mexican ID cards to get through security as well...

There is always AMTRAK.

Which is apparently what he took, right?

You don't really need ID to fly domestically, but you are expected to have ID to fly and can be denied boarding -- at least by the airline -- if you don't have it. And given the "foreign accent = terrorist" suspicion and the desire of so many dreamers to have the "big catch", people who don't present ID and fall within that category should have increased expectation of quite the hassle in the absence of a police report, perhaps from a police officer who is a "big catch" dreamer too.

I noticed that, too. If he was older there would certainly be the expectation that he would show photo ID, but the catch in this case is that the kid is apparently not 18 yet. He could have flown without gov't ID with no problem at all. The AMTRAK alternative was totally unnecessary.

The other thing odd about that story was the business about being asked for ID when he was a back-seat passenger in a car that was in a wreck. What on earth? Cops don't normally ask passengers (especially kids!) for ID at an accident scene.

Strangely enough, being an undocumented/illegal alian does not preclude one from getting a social security card or driver license in the US. At least not in California. So there would be no difficulty in flying, within US borders for these folks.

It is not a given that "he could have flown without gov't ID with no problem at all". There may be more to this story than there is, but we also have to remember that most people in America don't realize that there are ways to still fly without ID. What the sheople have been spoon-fed is that ID is security and that ID checks are now a requirement to fly. That most people think ID is required of most to fly is neither uncommon nor necessarily incorrect. In various regards, ID is required to fly .... and more so from some than others.

And in regards to passenger ID demands from passengers in vehicles that have been pulled over, it was happening here and there after 9/11. Being "brown" or "black" and speaking with a foreign accent probably didn't help matters a whole lot.

Being an American-born killer doesn't preclude one from getting a social security card or driving license in the the US either. Nothing strange about that either, especially since SSNs and DLs are not by themselves proof of much of anything other than applying for a SSN and qualifying for a DL.

There can be difficulty in flying within the US border for illegal aliens, although generally it should not pose much of a problem if familiar with how things work in the US and at US airports. Of course most illegal aliens are not fully aware of how things work (and don't work) in the US and at US airports since they are still in the learning process -- being rather new to the country for the most part.

You can always use a fake ID. Not hard to get.

They really only look for the name to match... and sometimes glimpse at the picture.

In fact, you don't need ID to check in... or to board, only to pass through TSA.

Oh, yes, the famous "Consular Matricula" cards. http://www.cis.org/articles/2003/mar...mony61903.html

Another scam perpetrated by the Mexican government. There are so many of these cards floating around the US and being used to open bank accounts, buy cars and houses (with the help of Citibank, which offers 1% below prime to illegals) that I find it very difficult to believe that an illegal from a Latin American country would have ANY problems at all flying.

Obviously, this young man's passport was confiscated by INS. But why didn't the school just issue another photo ID? Feel good story, but rather suspect in foundation.

The Consular Matricula cards are no more of a scam than using passports to travel. I don't care as it's the Mexican government's business what they want to issue for ID or not. And the borders should be secured at the border instead of having a massive police state round-up in the rest of the country or at the airports. And ID is not security at the airports either so let's ditch this government-issued photo ID nonsense for domestic flights. It's just another dog and pony show and far more suspect than even a suspect human interest story.

Oh, yes they are. Please come visit my small farm area of Arizona. Please observe the illegals bringing the blank forms and cards from Mexico. They fill them out at the illegal owned grocery store 6 miles from my house and office. Then the store owner takes them to LA to the Mexican consulate for "verification". No one from the consulate sees the people they are issued to. No one verifies that "JOSE GONZALES #1" is really that person and not "JOSE GONZALES #2-200" There are 5 guys running around out here, all with the same name on the Matricula cards-Juan Olivio Sanchez. Their real names are Jose, Octavio, Jesus, Jesus #2 and Miguel. Not exactly Juan.

There are probably no more than 10 countries in the world that have such loose documentation to issue a passport.

I will agree that airport ID is a dog and pony show and doesn't do much for security. And sure, the borders should be secured. But who is going to make the first move??? The Canadians are screaming about the US passport law, the Mexicans are screaming about the fence. And Congress sits on it's b***, "DEBATING".

You seem to have a problem with illegal immigrants, and I respect this, but this isn't really the place to express your dislike of them, is it?

We were discussing the Consular Matricula cards and how they are a scam by the Mexican government, NOT whether I like or dislike illegals.

If the Mexican government wants to issue ID to Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and the other Disney characters to fly, it's their business. Our American government issues ID to characters every day too and they fly. It even issues ID for the explicit purpose of committing crimes in many places. As they say, what's good for the goose is good for the gander. C'est la vie.

And there are a lot more than 10 countries with "such loose documentation to issue a passport". Try most all the world, with the US no paragon of "tight documentation" either when it comes to passports. And so-called REAL ID is a joke that's simply going to enable richer, more organized crime syndicates while the louts in the Administration (and their tools in Congress) enable the enrichment of their favorite contractors as we spend $100 to get $20 back. And the average American taxpayer will have to pay more, and passports will become more expensive too.

The idea that ID is security is a sham; if we drop it then it'll free up money, perhaps even money we can invest in real ways to deal with real problems. Someone getting on a plane and travelling domestically with or without "real ID" is not a real problem. Weapons & hazardous materials combined with criminal intention are real problems. I don't see why the kid in the OP's article should not be allowed to fly domestically if not in custody.

US citizens, US residents who are foreign citizens, foreign citizens who are visiting, and foreign citizens staying illegally in the US, all fly everyday domestically. Most all never have any problem flying domestically as long as they have some government ID and are not formally blacklisted. This kids problem sounds like he has no government-issued ID. I have a solution for him. Go to the Library of Congress and get federally-issued photo ID.